Fotini Hamidieli, Painter, Veria, Imathia, Greece

Whenever my hands itch, I want to work. When an idea is buzzing in my head, then I must. It is time.

The bodies that are coming out in my work now are more abstract and their surface is uneven, dug up. I have an idea of what I want to do, an idea of the structure. It’s like when you watch an autistic child repeat a movement in the same way. It’s very freeing. I don’t know exactly where I’m going, just want to keep pushing my work further to keep discovering, The work will let me know what will happen and where I should go next. New ways of approaching subjects, of using materials, finding new forms, establishing new relationships. It’s satisfying when I recognize something new to me.”

INTERVIEW WITH FIGURATIVE PAINTER, FOTINI HAMIDIELI

Veria, Imathia, Greece ~

Deanna Elaine Piowaty: I keep coming back to this one. She haunts.

Fotini Hamidieli: Yes. All this black hair pulling her down. Her eyes closed. Not communicating.

Deanna Elaine Piowaty: Yet she is not in need of rescuing. It is a journey she must travel, yes?

Fotini Hamidieli: A complicated journey.

Deanna Elaine Piowaty: Do you find yourself painting more when you are full of joyful energy? Or sorrow? Or needing to work something out?

FotiniHamidieli: All cases. But sentiments have to be worked out and not bothersome so I can concentrate.

Deanna Elaine Piowaty: How do you work them out?

Fotini Hamidieli: When something is finished and I ‘know’ it, I can let it go. Because it is inside me.

Deanna Elaine Piowaty: That is beautiful.

Deanna Elaine Piowaty: And this one. You and your sister?

Fotini Hamidieli: This painting shows me and maybe another me.

Deanna Elaine Piowaty: You and your doppleganger?

Fotini Hamidieli: We All have them, don’t we?

Deanna Elaine Piowaty: Ever regret selling any of your pieces?

Fotini Hamidieli: Yes, one. A small portrait of my son. I have two sons. [After selling that painting,] the boys did not allow me to sell any more of their portraits, even when the work was in a show. This painting is of my youngest, Stelios. I loved to work from my kids. I have few works of them though.

I Want To Go Home

Deanna Elaine Piowaty: And the story behind this one: I Want to Go Home?

Fotini Hamidieli: At some point in her illness, my mother used to leave her house and try to get back to her paternal home; but she could not find it and wandered around…It had been demolished.

Watching Her Fall

Deanna Elaine Piowaty: Please tell me about Watching Her Fall.

Fotini Hamidieli: The little figure in the middle represents someone close to me in trouble. We cannot save others; we can only be there for them.

Deanna Elaine Piowaty: Your paintings touch me deeply. You speak to such a universal truth of being human. Of what it is to be at once connected with your own emotions, and also connected with others. That is the goal of the artist, yes? To connect in both directions to something deep and profound? Something both unique to you and yet at the same time, universal.

Fotini Hamidieli: Yes. Something that starts with me but connects to other people. You know how many times women I do not know say, “You have painted me“?

Deanna Elaine Piowaty: Do you feel naked after you are finished? Or excited to share?

Fotini Hamidieli: I feel naked when I talk about it, like now.

Deanna Elaine Piowaty: You would rather have your work speak for itself?

Fotini Hamidieli: I don’t want to think about it too much, but rather allow my unconscious to do the work. You ask probing questions. [But] if deep down we did not like it a bit we would find a way to avoid it. In answering, we have to look at ourselves a little harder.

Deanna Elaine Piowaty: Yes. And isn’t that why we all create?

Penelope Is Leaving

Fotini Hamidieli: Yes, but we also like to have our work presented, and most people cannot relate to the art part of the work. So they first approach it through sentiment and what they can understand more easily. So keep on asking.

Deanna Elaine Piowaty: Why is that, do you think? Aren’t we all born with a visual and emotional language and awareness? Color, shape, dark & light…Don’t we all start from there?

Fotini Hamidieli: Yes at first we have it, and then gradually forget it.

Deanna Elaine Piowaty: Do you receive a different reaction from children than from adults?

Fotini Hamidieli: Children can understand easily.

Deanna Elaine Piowaty: How do they respond? Are some of the images too strong for them?

Fotini Hamidieli: Some have said it is sad. Very young children are open to everything and they are curious. Kids around thirteen to fifteen are more skeptical and so it is difficult for them to accept unless you win them over.

Deanna Elaine Piowaty: How does it feel when you revisit an old painting? Can it get to be too emotional?

Fotini Hamidieli: Not really.

Deanna Elaine Piowaty: Are you able to have your work up on your wall at home?

"My paintings are allegorical, but I expect each viewer will bring their own interpretation to a piece. The question one asks depends on the individual interpretation. If it’s a superficial read of literal abuse or abasement, then that is the subject being addressed within the viewer. If there is a more complex interpretation stemming from one’s life experiences, then the piece becomes personal, and asks questions the viewer is interested in answering."

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~Andrew Nargolwala, psychotherapist

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Many of the sights and sounds we’re subjected to in our society are harsh and disturbing. Psychologically and spiritually toxic. Scenes of cruelty, vindictiveness, ugliness and pettiness saturate the media and poison the mental atmosphere. I like the fact that I am sending out into the world images, pictures, little visions, that may do a tiny bit to counteract all that and communicate a sense of beauty, gentle humanity, grace, even holiness. It makes me feel like I’m doing something worthwhile in this sad, sad world.

One of the gifts of Aleah Chapin's body-of-work is the idea that true intimacy is achieved first and foremost by revealing oneself honestly. That through vulnerability we are able to deeply connect. One’s imperfections can actually make connection with others deeper, stronger. More real.

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~Gary Briechle, photographer, Rockland, Maine

The former dockyard worker from Hiroshima decided that instead of creating one enduring piece to serve as metaphor for a love never-ending, he would construct a series of temporary installations meticulously fashioned from the painstakingly slow arrangement of so many tiny grains of salt.

"I was a little surprised to hear so many people express that they perceive my pieces as being intentionally disturbing. Wanting to explore the workings of the unconscious tends to make people feel uncomfortable. They imagine death...I like to think of insects caught in amber."